The aggregate section 179 funding position of the 4,838 schemes in the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) 7800 index fell by £5.3bn to a surplus of £280.7bn in October.
The lifeboat fund said the funding ratio fell by 1.3 percentage points to 133.7% at the end of October from 135.0% at the end of September.
PPF acting chief actuary Aaron Pang said: "Government bond yields fell slightly during October, increasing both asset and liability values. While scheme assets rose overall, gains were partially offset by weaker overseas equity markets.
"At the end of October 2026, the 4,838 schemes in the PPF 7800 Index recorded an aggregate surplus of £275.4bn, down from £280.7bn at the end of September. Total assets increased by 0.9% to £1,091.7bn, while liabilities rose by 1.9% to £816.3bn. As a result, the funding ratio fell from 135.0% to 133.7%."
Source: PPF
The PPF noted that, in its December 2025 update, it highlighted the government had announced that it would legislate to allow the PPF to pay prospective indexation starting from 2027 for service accrued pre-1997 for members of schemes who provided this as a right.
It said that, as well as schemes that have already transferred to the PPF, this would also impact the s179 liabilities of schemes in the PPF universe.
In April the Pension Schemes Act received Royal Assent – and the PPF said it would reflect the impact from these changes in the PPF 7800 Index in due course.
